January 2013

The video shows an excavator knocking down my grade school, Ss. Peter and Paul in Norwood, just a few weeks ago. Sad, sad, sad. Four Murray boys went through there in the 20s and 30s, and two more in the 60s and 70s. The frieze over the arches on the front porch read “Pro Deo et Patria,” and that was what we were taught. The view here is from the back, on the paved playground, looking up the hill, roughly to the east.

I can’t get too nostalgic about the place–but I do still dream about running through the halls and down the stairs every once in a while. When I started there in 1965 there were about 250 kids. The school itself after the usual mergers and closings moved out to St. John in Deer Park, and since moved to Sacred Heart in Reading. The grand tour of blue collar suburbs. I wonder where all the Catholics went.

The building to the left of the school in the video is the former Mt. St. Mary’s seminary. From that side of the seminary, Cardinal Pacelli spoke to the interested in fall 1936. My dad was there.

The school building was plain brown brick, with some Italian Renaissance ornamentation. I think it deserved a better end, but a school without students can’t be a school.

Fr. Martin Fox, the Director of Priestly Formation for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and Parochial Vicar for St. Rose of Lima church, announces a great new Year-of-Faith initiative for Cincinnati’s East-side Catholics:

We’ll be using the Luke E. Hart Series from the Knights of Columbus, an adaptation of Peter Kreeft’s masterful overview of the Catechism, Catholic Christianity. The ten chapters of part one, “What Catholics Believe,” cover the Creed, i.e., Faith, and we’ll review two chapters per session for five months. If you live nearby, join us.

I hope the print version of this Dayton Daily News story is better than the electronic version, because this thing just isn’t terribly coherent.

Basically, the parish currently in Springboro has a tiny building, and they’re building a bigger one because there’s so many people moving out there past the Dayton Mall and along 75 down towards Cincinnati. While they’re at it, the archdiocese has apparently decided to drag in another parish which I don’t know much about, which may or may not be growing or shrinking. But instead of talking about that expansion and talking to the members of both parishes, they’ve shoehorned it into a story about consolidating parishes that are losing members, and about priests retiring. Wha?

Needless to say, nobody mentions the huge seminarian classes coming in, because it’s not really a story about the actual state of anything.

Also, the headline says “Ohio Catholics,” but they don’t contact Columbus or Toledo or Steubenville — presumably because the news isn’t bad there, and they’re planting new parishes with all their new young priests. God forbid one should find out something that might mess up the story.

I don’t know if this is some kind of “the AP did a story so we have to do a story” thing. I don’t know whether the editor or the reporter is to blame here. But certainly the editor is the one who’s supposed to make sure a story makes sense to the reader. And is factual and balanced. And is not a waste of paper. A very poor job by the DDN.

The Catholic Telegraph of Cincinnati reports on the planned activities of two local Catholic universities, Xavier University and the University of Dayton, for Martin Luther King Day. In the case of XU, it’s more like Martin Luther King Week; they have at least one event per day from Jan. 21 – Jan. 25, the last of which is called “Ivy Prince Boyz II Men: Evolution of a Gentleman.” And XU and UD themselves promote these activities on their respective websites here and here. Curiously, the schools forgot to include their activities for the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, which falls on Jan. 22 — smack-dab in the middle of all the MLK festivities. ‘Must be an oversight.

Xavier University plans a week of events to celebrate the birthday of civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King. Events are free and open to the public, except where noted. Co-sponsored by Xavier’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, Office of Student Involvement, Center for Interfaith Community Engagement, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Career Services Center and Black Student Association.

I have been to 3 funerals lately, two this week, what a mixed bag. Especially when you consider that all of the deceased were married at a weekday Latin Mass in the early to late 50’s

First was my uncle, dad’s oldest brother, fist of dad’s family to go. Mass was 3 weeks ago at St Bernard, Burkettsville, a beautiful on the outside, somewhat recovated on the inside church. Entered to tacky “uplifting” music, sat down and tried to pray the rosary, choir prevented that. Then watched as two severettes attempted to light the candles with those abominable grill lighters, click click click. Then an elderly man came out and with not so much as a bow opened the tabernacle and proceeded to run his finger through the consecrated hosts and count them, closed it up and dusted his fingers off, eeeeck. The high point of the Mass was Fr Mugabee a black priest from Haiti I think. His accent was quite thick but he delivered a good sermon/eulogy. Very “spirit of v2 mass but nothing out of the ordinary, the usual distributors everywhere, (got to include family don’t ya know) Oh well, what do you expect in the DoC

Another was today, a Neighbor, 68, had bone cancer but mercifully died of a heart aneurism, God must have loved her, to spare her the pain, my Aunt died of it and the pain is horrible, it lead one of my older friends and sort of mentor in farming to kill himself, the pain drove him insane. She was the mother of 5 boys and two girls, 26 grandchildren. Her sons were the definition of “good old boys” and the two girls were just as ornery, but all in a good way, And Mom was just as bad (read good). After the last rites and prayers she squeezed her teary eyed husbands hand and said,” Urby it’s been a good ride, I love you” and she passed. They are the definition of good neighbors; even though they are competitive farmers, they would give you the shirt off their back to help. The Mass, more of the same as before, why when there are three priests concelebrating do you need distributors?? Oh well I several tears

BUT now about yesterday

My Great Aunt Rose died, in her late 80’s, her husband, Romaine, passed 8 years ago.

What a Mass, Fr Amberger is a wonderful Priest

First thing of note, at her viewing there sat a young man in full cassock holding a biretta, it was one of her grandsons, he is a brother in the Institute of Christ the King, stationed in Chicago. Nice sight. Now on to Mass

Servers in cassock and surplice, proper candle lighters, you know with a wick and snuffer on a long handle. They came out in a pair and genuflected in front of the tabernacle, WOW.

Father came out wearing a biretta, and dark purple ornate vestments, not white, wow again, chalice veiled and corporal bursed, the Latin Mass has definitely influenced him, Triple bells at elevation and lifted all the way up, bells at consecration, said low and bent over the host, fore finger and thumb held together at all times, bowing to the servers and ablation after communion, (I know that term is not right so correct me)

Brother Alex acted as master of ceremonies and did the readings as is his duties at the institute,

To top it all off, the rector and vicar general of the institute drove out for the Mass, He sat in choir, off to the side, full cassock white lace surplice and black cope or cape, no attempt to concelebrate, which made the one elderly priest in alb trying to concelebrate with Fr really look foolish I must say

Communion with patens whether on the tongue or in the hand, just Father and no wine to boot and No sign of Peace, wow I almost cried, I have never experienced a NO mass like this, totally incredible. I caught myself tearing up, I have never done that because of a Mass. All of Fr Ambergers Masses are like this from what I can learn. Come to St Remy in beautiful downtown Russia, Ohio (pronounced ruush- ie)

Fr Amberger is responsible for two of Roses’s children giving up the SSPX and coming home, says something about him don’t it, and all he did was celebrate a Holy Mass, that is all it took, hello Priests of the DoC any one home???

if you look closely not a habit in sight, pantsuits galore, the article is enough to make you laugh, or cry, at their heresy. Stick a fork in them, these “gals” are done. And now their “reason” for declining numbers is they are an exclusive group and historically vocations were never that big anyway,

go to the site, I kind of botched the order of the pics, ( I’m leaving for a funeral shortly, more about that later) I know, it’s Rotate, but their point is valid and the same for the Sisters, no habit, no orthodoxy, no vocations, do you see any cassocks or even a suit with a “roman collar”, nope, nada, just declining numbers and no “spark” if you will

totally sad,

E

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap) : In 2011 the four provinces of Andalusia, Castile, Navarra-Cantabria-Aragon and Valencia were unified into a single province.

Discalced Carmelites : In 2014 the seven provinces of Navarre, Burgos, Castile, Andalusia, Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia and Portugal will be unified into one.

In 2010, there were 433 Discalced Carmelites in Spain; 230 were above 60 years of age (92 were more than 80 years old), and 203 were below 60 years of age (only 25 were below 40 years old).

Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans): In 2016, the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Friars Preachers, the Dominicans will unify the Provinces of Spain, Aragon, Andalusia, Portugal and the Vicariate of the Holy Rosary into one.

Order of Friars Minor (OFM) : In 2015 the Provinces of 1) Castile, 2) Andalusia, 3) Granada, 4) Valencia-Aragon, 5) Catalonia, 6) Cartagena-Murcia and 7) the Custody of San Francisco Solano will be consolidated into a single entity. The Provinces of Aránzazu and Santiago will remain as they are.